泰坦尼克号失事百年 沉船地点举行纪念

At the shrill sound of a ship's whistle in the North Atlantic, relatives of some of the more than 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg remembered their ancestors in a poignant ceremony a century later.

On a still, starry night and with little glare from the moon, the memorial cruise ship MS Balmoral floated above the wreckage of the famous 'unsinkable' luxury liner precisely 100 years to the day it foundered.

"At 2:20 am all was quiet, as it would have been 100 years ago when it went deathly quiet, when the screaming stopped," British Titanic historian Philip Littlejohn told the reporters on Sunday. Littlejohn's grandfather, Alexander Littlejohn, was a 1st class steward in charge of lifeboat 13 when the ship began to go down.

About 700 people were rescued that night, including his grandfather, but there were too few lifeboats to save the rest.

David Haisman, 74, a retired seaman from the English port town of Southampton, mourned the loss of his grandfather who had been on his way to Seattle to start a new life in the United States with his wife and daughter.

"I've been brought up with the story but now I could feel it," he said.

"My mother used to tell me how she got into lifeboat 14 and her feet became soaked with the 3 to 4 inches of water that remained in the bottom despite bailing."

The last time she saw her father was when he cupped his hands and shouted "I'll see you in New York".

The story of the world's most famous maritime disaster has gripped the world's imagination, inspiring Hollywood films.

While some of those on board the memorial cruise were relatives of the victims, others had paid thousands of pounds in order to retrace the vessel's fateful journey from Southampton to New York.

The ship, the biggest in the world at the time, foundered in frigid Atlantic waters off Newfoundland on April 15, 1912.

On Saturday, Balmoral's ship's whistle pierced the air at 11.40 pm, the exact time the Titanic hit the iceberg, followed by a two-minute silence.

Most of Balmoral's 1,300 passengers then squeezed onto the deck for a service and hymns, and to watch three wreaths be thrown into the calm waters at 2.20am Sunday morning, the moment she sank.

(Read by Emily Cheng. Emily Cheng is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

双语资讯

(Agencies)

泰坦尼克号海难事故发生一百周年之际，伴随着大西洋上船舶汽笛的尖锐声响，部分遇难者家属举行沉痛的悼念仪式纪念先辈。一个世纪前，泰坦尼克号撞上冰山沉没，超过1500人因此丧生。

在这个寂静的夜晚，月光朦胧，天空布满繁星，纪念邮轮“巴尔莫勒尔号”巡游在泰坦尼克号的失事地点。100年前的当晚，这艘号称“永不沉没”的著名豪华邮轮沉没海底。

英国泰坦尼克号历史学家菲利普-利特尔约翰上周日告诉记者：“凌晨两点二十分，一片沉寂，就如同100年前的当晚一样死寂，这时，船的汽笛声突然停止了。”利特尔约翰的祖父亚历山大-利特尔约翰当时是头等舱的管事，船舶开始沉没时主管第13号救生艇。

当晚，大约700人获救，其中包括他的祖父，但救生艇太少，导致多人遇难。

英国港口城市南安普敦74岁的退休海员大卫-海斯曼悼念了他的祖父。当时他的祖父乘船与妻女一同前往西雅图，想在美国开始新的生活。

他说：“我长大的过程中一直听到这个故事，但我现在可以感受到它了。”

“我的母亲曾告诉我，她是如何登上了14号救生艇，双脚浸泡在三到四英寸深的水里，尽管向外排水也排不干净。”

她和父亲永别时，父亲紧握住她的双手喊道：“我会在纽约见你。”

全球这起最著名的海难的故事引来了整个世界的无限遐想，也给好莱坞影片带来了灵感。

尽管纪念邮轮上的一些人是遇难者的亲属，但也有一些是专门花费了几千英镑的船票来重游泰坦尼克号从南安普敦开往纽约的宿命之旅。

泰坦尼克号在当时是全球最大的船舶，于1912年4月15日在纽芬兰附近冰冷的大西洋海域沉没。

上周六晚间11点40分，也就是泰坦尼克号撞击冰山的准确时间，“巴尔莫勒尔”号纪念邮轮的汽笛划破长空，之后是两分钟的默哀。

之后，“巴尔莫勒尔”号上1300名乘客中的大多数人挤到甲板上举行仪式，唱赞美诗。周日凌晨2点20分，也就是泰坦尼克号沉没的时刻，人们把三个花圈扔进平静的水里。

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